Wednesday, March 05, 2008

With Each Goal, A Milestone

Now that Alex Ovechkin is back on pace to score a ton of goals this year, it's time to look at what each of his tallies going forward means in the record books (as opposed to on the scoresheet).

Starting with his next goal (his 53rd on the campaign), every one of the goals he scores the rest of the way will obviously be a new career high. But each one is more than just a new single-season mark for Alex - it's a noteworthy achievement both to the franchise and in the hockey world at large. Let's take a look, by goal (note: these are "sole possession" numbers - subtract one and Alex is tied):

Personal career high; Most goals ever scored by a Capital in a three-year span (breaking Peter Bondra's mark of 150 set between 1995-96 and 1997-98)

Most goals scored in a season by a Capital since 1981-82 (breaking Bobby Carpenter's mark set in 1984-85); Most goals scored in a season by a left wing since 1992-93 (breaking Dave Andreychuk's mark set in 1993-94)

More goals than Glenn Anderson or Pat LaFontaine ever scored in a single season

More goals than Cam Neely or Dino Ciccarelli ever scored in a single season

Most goals scored in a season since the lockout (breaking Jonathan Cheechoo's mark set in 2005-06); Most goals scored in his first three seasons in the League by a European-born player (breaking Pavel Bure's mark of 154)

More goals than Michel Goulet ever scored in a single season

More goals than Bobby Hull or Tim Kerr ever scored in a single season

Most goals scored by a Russian-born player in a season since 1993-94 (breaking Pavel Bure's mark set in 2000-01)

Most goals scored by a Capital in a single season (breaking Dennis Maruk's mark set in 1981-82); Most goals scored by a Russian-born player in a season since 1992-93 (breaking Pavel Bure's mark set in 1993-94)

As many goals as Wayne Gretzky ever had in a single season... other than the four seasons from 1981-82 through 1984-85.

More goals than Jaromir Jagr has ever scored in a single season

Single season record for most goals by a left wing (breaking Luc Robitaille's mark set in 1992-93)

If Alex gets close to 64, I'll add a few more to this list, but this should do for now. Oh, and in honor of those last two milestones, should AO hit 64, I want to see him and Nicklas Backstrom recreate this photo:

Update:

More goals than all but 58 NHLers had points in 2006-07

More goals than Steve Yzerman ever scored in a single season

More goals than Lanny McDonald ever scored in a single season

More goals than Jaromir Jagr had in his first two seasons in D.C. combined

Okay. Not only did Ovie get "close" to 64, he stomped on it. Care to add to the list? With one more game in the season and Ovie at 65, you should go to at least 70. It's not out of the realm of possibilities, no?